Shigeru Miyamoto tipped to be Iwata successor at Nintendo

Shigeru Miyamoto has been tipped to be the successor to the recently deceased Nintendo President, Satoru Iwata.

Nintendo has only had two presidents in the modern era and that’s Hiroshi Yamayuchi from 1949 to 2002 and the late Satoru Iwata form 2002 until Saturday.

Sadly, Iwata has passed away from cancer aged just 55 and now speculation has began as to who will be his replacement.

All eyes are currently falling on the 62-year-old Shigeru Miyamoto, the creator of Nintendo franchises such as Donkey Kong, Mario and Zelda.

“I am surprised at this sudden news and overcome with sadness,” said Miyamoto in a statement. “The entire development team at Nintendo will remain committed to our development policy which Mr. Iwata and we have been constructing together and to yield the development results which Mr. Iwata would appreciate.”

Nintendo has said it currently has no plans as to whom would replace Mr. Iwata, and the company has yet to name an interim president.

However, Miyamoto and Genyo Takeda would continue in their positions as representative directors.

Nintendo of Europe president Satoru Shibata has also released a statement on Iwata’s death, which reads:

“It is difficult to put into words the sadness we feel at this time. Mr. Iwata was a strong leader, a unique figure in the gaming indsutry and an important part of Nintendo’s history. He was a visionary in every sense of the word and we will miss him dearly.”

“Just as Mr. Iwata challenged us to always push forward, we will ensure his legacy lives on through our ongoing work to always surprise and delight our fans. At this time our thoughts are with his family.”